TRAVERSE CITY -- Some middle school students in Traverse City will have an unexpectedly long weekend while custodians scrub their building after hundreds of students reported flu-like symptoms.
West Middle School is closed today and Friday after roughly 250 students said they were ill Wednesday morning, about 20 percent of the 1,209 sixth- through eighth-graders enrolled as of Sept. 30.
Traverse City Area Public Schools spokeswoman Alison Arnold said about 200 students reported feeling sick by the end of the day Tuesday.
The closure is in response to a fresh outbreak of the H1N1 influenza strain known as swine flu, which was declared a pandemic in June. Thus far, it has not been more severe than the seasonal flu.
But enough students became ill that closing the doors to allow time for recovery, as well as a chance to clean common areas and buses, seemed like a logical decision, Arnold said.
Students are in the middle of testing for the Michigan Educational Assessment Program, or MEAP. Principal Pam Alfieri said the district is working with the state education department to reschedule tests.
A Michigan Department of Education spokeswoman said schools that closed for flu soon will receive information about makeup dates.
"I think a lot of students were trying to come to school to hang in there and get through this," Arnold said. "We're watching this kind of hourly."
Fred Keeslar, director of the Grand Traverse County Health Department, said he and medical director Dr. Michael Collins talked to district and school administrators Wednesday morning and advised them to close.
The number of absences quickly approached the 20 percent mark, Keeslar said.
"There's no magic number," he said. "It's not a cure-all, but it may at least ... give a chance for some recovery and maybe slow down the spread."
All middle school extracurricular, after-school and athletic events have been canceled for the rest of the week, Arnold said. Freshman Academy students who attend the middle school will not have class.
Buses will continue to use the school as a transportation depot, but students will not enter the building, she said.
The district's high schools so far are not affected by closures. Friday's varsity football game between West and Central is planned, Arnold said, but further closures are possible if absences continue to spike.
Traverse City's situation does not appear to have spread as rapidly to neighboring counties, where the number of student absences is lower.
The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department has not discussed closing schools in either county, health officer Bill Crawford said. Schools have been instructed to call if rapid increases in absences are noted.
Administrators in Suttons Bay Public Schools provided hand cleansers and changed paper towel dispensers to improve hygiene, Superintendent Mike Murray said.
"We have three confirmed cases we know of. I think we've been pretty fortunate here," he said. "We're planning on going so long as we have 75 percent of students in class."
In Fife Lake, no students have been confirmed positive for H1N1, but officials at Forest Area Community Schools still are taking precautions.
"We're being extra cautious with our sanitation. Janitors are sanitizing more than usual," Superintendent John Smith said. "I'm guessing it just hasn't made its way here yet."
For more information
Traverse City West Middle School will be closed today and Friday because of an increase in flu-related absences. The district intends to reopen the school Monday, but will send out a message on the AlertNow system and on www.tcaps.net by 9 p.m. Sunday to confirm.
Parents of ill children are asked to contact their grade principals by e-mail between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday to update conditions:
-- Sixth grade: Julie Faulkner, faulknerju@tcaps.net, (231) 933-8220
-- Seventh grade: Dan Tiesworth, tieswortda@tcaps.net, (231) 933-8300
-- Eighth grade: Lynn Hansen, hansenly@tcaps.net, (231) 933-8260
Munson Medical Center has stopped letting in visitors 18 and younger, hospital spokesman Dale Killingbeck said. The restrictions went into effect at 5 p.m. Wednesday and will be reviewed on a day-to-day basis, he said. Call (231) 935-5000 to find out the current restrictions.
The hospital continues to remind everyone not to visit the hospital when they are sick.
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